Country Deux- France

Next we traveled by train to France. Our two main stops here were Paris and a spot in the countryside southwest of Paris, near the Atlantic coast, where we visited Jen's family friends, Rachel and Pierre Stupple. We had a great time with them! They showed us exotic donkeys, the joys of multi-course dining and why living in the French countryside is a temptation that's hard to resist. In Paris, highlights were the famous sights and a Seine River cruise, exploring the city on the Metro subway system, picnicing, and the best falafel sandwiches this side of Israel.

Europe Trip 2008

So like I said, we went to Europe for three weeks in the month of May, 2008. We traveled by plane, train, automobile, cruise ship, gondola, and foot. We visited nine countries, counting the Vatican. Here are highlights of country number one: Belgium! The first picture is in Bruges, a city not far from Brussels, called "The Venice of the North" because of its canals. The second is Jen and I on an evening walk in downtown Brussels, and the third is in the same area. The last shows Shannon, our wonderful and generous host in Belgium.

Our 16 Minutes of Fame!

On April 29th, we left for our long-awaited, long-planned European Odyssey. We'll be sharing a few photos and thoughts from the trip. But let's start with the fame it resulted in-- On June 22nd, news of our journey made The Tacoma News Tribune! Well, it wasn't that hard. They encourage people to take copies of the paper with them on vacation and then take a photo to prove that The News Tribune is a worldwide publication. If you're lucky enough they print your photo in a Sunday edition. And we were lucky enough! That was fifteen of our minutes of fame. Several people mentioned they saw us in the paper. Then we had one last minute of fame because the Tribune incorrectly condensed my description of the photo, placing us in the wrong spot in Deutschland. They printed a correction a couple days later, not because we called them, but because some other soul out there was familiar enough with Wurzburg to complain.

Our little graduate...

We just finished 8 weeks of puppy-training classes at the Petsmart store. Roxy learned commands like sit, stay, lay down, and roll over. Of course, knowing the commands and doing them are very different things sometimes! Actually she's doing pretty well for an exuberant 5 1/2 month old. Here's a picture of her in her graduation cap.

A few more March pics...

March was a great month! Along with Heather's engagement, we also enjoyed visits by Jen's mom, Susan Moll, brother Andy, sister-in-law, Nicole, and niece Zoe. Roxy kept us busy too. And last but not least, Jen got a new haircut. Scott approves!

Heather and Robby's engagement!

Scott's sister, Heather, got engaged to Robby Lanouette on March 27th. They plan a July wedding, and we're really excited to have Robby in the family! He's a great addition, and most importantly of course, a great match for Heather. The engagement day saw Robby surprising her with a limousine pickup, followed by the proposal at Titlow Beach, a ride to a city overlook for a prayertime, and then celebrating with the rest of us.

Trip to Oklahoma!

We traveled to Inola, Oklahoma, (a half hour east of Tulsa) over the Easter weekend to see the first of the next generation Seelys, Josiah David, born to Stephen and Valerie. We packed a lot into our short weekend there. The whole family made it, and we enjoyed being nine-strong for the first time. (Soon to be ten! See the post on sister Heather's engagement.) Highlights were seeing our cute nephew, catching up with Stephen and Valerie, spending time with Valerie's wonderful family, (parents, Harvey and Verna, and sister Andrea) meeting the gracious Bobbi who hosted us at her nearby home, and touring the Jantz farm. Jen and I really enjoyed our short taste of country life!